William King
"The existing attitude of the forces of capital and labour toward one another is too often one of mistrust and antagonism, this was the state of the nations of Europe before the war. If industry is to serve humanity, the system which is distinguished by these characteristics must yield to a new order based upon mutual confidence and cooperation. Such a change will require patience, but nothing short of it will resolve the issues which arise from the state of modern industry." - Humanity and Industry ''by William King '''William Lyon Mackenzie King B.L., M.A., Ph.D., CMG OM PC, (17, December, 1874 - 22, July, 1950)' was a Scottish author, consultant, diplomat, politician, philosopher and statesman. During his career King served as a Member of Parliament, fifth Minister of Foreign Affairs, fourth Minister of Labour, twenty-fifth President of His Majesty's Privy Council and tenth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada. King's administration centralized the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as Crown corporations, decentralized national resource management, established the Dominion's substantial welfare programme, expanded the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, managed the Commonwealth Air Force Training Programme, oversaw the construction of the Alaska-Yukon Highway, practiced military solidarity with the British Empire, deploying forces to Africa, Asia and Europe during the Second World War in service of King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI, respectively. King personally co-founded the Anglo-American Board of Continental Defence, designed the layout of the Dominion's administrative capitol in Ottawa, drafted the the Immigration Act of 1923, ''preserving the country's economic sovereignty and ethnic homogeneity, and the ''Opium Act of 1908 ''to combat the opioid crisis which accompanied an influx of Chinese labourers, lead the Canadian delegation at the Imperial Conferences of 1923, 1926 and 1937, and signed the ''Canada-U.S. Agriculture Products Trade Agreement of 1935, the Anglo-American Continental Defence Agreement of 1940 ''and the Anglo-American Munitions Agreement of 1941''. Biography Early Life William Lyon Mackenzie King was born to John King, a lawyer and professor, and his wife Isabella (née Mackenzie,) at Berlin, Ontario on 17, December, 1874. He was the second of four children, including: Bella, Jennie and Max. Education Political Career Immigration An ardent ethnonationalist from an early age, King developed beliefs favouring national ethnic homogeneity over many years amongst the alumni of universities in Canada and the United States, and this influenced administrative policy in the King Ministry. King himself drafted the Immigration Act of 1923, reserving the freedom to migrate to Canada for western Europeans exclusively. In his 1908 dissertation on foreign immigration, for which he earned a Ph.D., King stated: "That Canada should desire to restrict immigration and remain a white man's country is regarded as not only natural, but necessary for economic, political and social reasons."'' - Oriental Immigration to Canada'' by W.L. Mackenzie King Personal Life Religion A lifelong Christian, King adhered to the denominational beliefs and practices of the Presbyterian Protestants. His religious principles guided his philosophy regarding industrial relations, international cooperation and class relations. It was on the basis of these principles that King developed the Dominion's welfare programme, believing that one should "help those who cannot help themselves," an element of state-citizen relations in the Dominion which remains in effect today. Trivia * King was bilingual and fluent in English and French. * King was Canada's most well-educated Prime Minister and the only one to have earned a Ph.D. * King was the only Prime Minister of Canada to serve under three monarchs; George V, Edward VIII and George VI. * King was the longest serving Prime Minister of any Dominion in the history of the British Empire, holding office for 21 years and 154 days.